IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘EU – Acrylic Polymers (In Primary Forms) – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

For the fourth year in a row, the EU acrylic polymer market recorded growth in sales value, which increased by 1.3% to $5.7B in 2019. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +3.1% from 2013 to 2019; however, the trend pattern remained consistent, with only minor fluctuations being recorded in certain years. Over the period under review, the market attained the maximum level in 2019 and is expected to retain growth in the immediate term.

Consumption by Country

The country with the largest volume of acrylic polymer consumption was France (876K tonnes), accounting for 28% of total volume. Moreover, acrylic polymer consumption in France exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, Italy (358K tonnes), twofold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by Germany (311K tonnes), with a 9.9% share.

In France, acrylic polymer consumption increased at an average annual rate of +16.6% over the period from 2013-2019. In other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: Italy (+10.9% per year) and Germany (+0.5% per year).

In value terms, France ($1B), Italy ($727M) and Germany ($695M) appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of market value in 2019, together comprising 43% of the total market. These countries were followed by Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Spain, which together accounted for a further 36%.

The countries with the highest levels of acrylic polymer per capita consumption in 2019 were Belgium (15 kg per person), the Netherlands (14 kg per person) and France (13 kg per person).

Production in the EU

Acrylic polymer production expanded notably to 3.8M tonnes in 2019, surging by 6.7% against 2018. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +4.7% from 2013 to 2019; however, the trend pattern indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years.

Production by Country

The countries with the highest volumes of acrylic polymer production in 2019 were France (1.3M tonnes), Germany (878K tonnes) and Belgium (476K tonnes), with a combined 71% share of total production.

From 2013 to 2019, the biggest increases were in France, while acrylic polymer production for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Imports in the EU

In 2019, approx. 2.8M tonnes of acrylic polymers (in primary forms) were imported in the European Union; surging by 3.1% against 2018 figures. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +3.0% over the period from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations in certain years. The volume of imports peaked in 2019 and is expected to retain growth in the near future. In value terms, acrylic polymer imports fell modestly to $5.8B (IndexBox estimates) in 2019.

Imports by Country

In 2019, Germany (495K tonnes), followed by Italy (313K tonnes), Poland (294K tonnes), France (267K tonnes), the Netherlands (237K tonnes), the UK (211K tonnes), Belgium (194K tonnes) and Spain (185K tonnes) represented the major importers of acrylic polymers (in primary forms), together committing 77% of total imports. Sweden (115K tonnes), the Czech Republic (109K tonnes), Austria (79K tonnes) and Finland (57K tonnes) held a relatively small share of total imports.

From 2013 to 2019, the biggest increases were in the Czech Republic, while purchases for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, Germany ($1.1B), Italy ($628M) and Poland ($555M) appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2019, with a combined 39% share of total imports. These countries were followed by France, the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria and Finland, which together accounted for a further 50%.

Import Prices by Country

The acrylic polymer import price in the European Union stood at $2,030 per tonne in 2019, shrinking by -7.7% against the previous year. Overall, the import price showed a noticeable reduction. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in 2018 an increase of 11% y-o-y. The level of imports peaked at $2,502 per tonne in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, import prices stood at a somewhat lower figure.

Average prices varied somewhat amongst the major importing countries. In 2019, major importing countries recorded the following prices: in Belgium ($2,238 per tonne) and Germany ($2,191 per tonne), while the Czech Republic ($1,727 per tonne) and Sweden ($1,728 per tonne) were amongst the lowest.

From 2013 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Austria, while the other leaders experienced a decline in the import price figures.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform